Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 1-22-19

White House And Political News
FBI: Man Wanted To Attack White House With Anti-Tank Rocket
Shutdown May Upend State Of The Union Speech
A Georgia man accused of plotting to use an anti-tank rocket to storm into the White House was arrested in a sting last Wednesday after he traded his car for guns and explosives, authorities said.
Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, of Cumming was arrested Wednesday and is charged with attempting to damage or destroy a building owned by the United States using fire or an explosive, U. S. Attor- ney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Taheb had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
A local law enforcement agency contacted the FBI in
WHITE HOUSE SECURITY
March after getting a tip from someone who said Taheb had become radicalized, changed his name and planned to travel abroad, ac- cording to an FBI agent’s af- fidavit filed in court.
The affidavit says Taheb told a confidential FBI source in October that he planned to travel abroad for “hijra,” which the agent wrote refers to traveling to territory con- trolled by the Islamic State. Because he didn’t have a passport, he couldn’t travel abroad and told the FBI source that he wanted to carry out an attack in the U .S. against the White House and the Statue of Liberty.
He met with the under- cover agent and the FBI source multiple times last month and was also in fre- quent contact using an en- crypted messaging application, the affidavit says.
A grand Washington rit- ual became a potential casu- alty of the partial government shutdown Wednesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Donald Trump to postpone his Jan. 29 State of the Union speech. She cited concerns about whether the hobbled government can provide ade- quate security, but Republi- cans cast her move as a ploy to deny Trump the stage.
In a letter to Trump, Pelosi said that with both the Secret Service and the Homeland Security Depart- ment entangled in the shut- down, the president should speak to Congress another time or he should deliver the address in writing. Home- land Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen denied anyone’s safety is compro- mised, saying both agencies “are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.”
Trump did not immedi- ately respond to the request
PRES. TRUMP AND NANCY PELOSI
and the White House, thrown off guard by the move, had yet to offer any official re- sponse hours later. But GOP allies accused Pelosi of play- ing politics, with Republican Rep. Steve Scalise tweet- ing that Democrats are “only interested in obstructing @realDonaldTrump, not gov- erning.”
Pelosi, who issued the customary invitation to Trump weeks ago, hit the president in a vulnerable place, as he delights in taking his message to the public and has been preparing for the address for weeks.
Sympathy Grows For TSA, Federal Workers As Shutdown Lingers
The partial government shutdown is a double- whammy for Cara and Philip Mangone, a married couple from Philadelphia. Both are officers with the Transporta- tion Safety Administration, both working full time at the Philadelphia airport. Neither knows when they might again start drawing their paychecks.
Part-time jobs are out of the question — they work opposite shifts timed to make sure one of them is always home with their two kids, ages 2 and 5. So donations of food and diapers have been a real help as sav- ings are being stretched thin.
“Every penny that we don’t have to spend is helpful,” Cara Mangone said Wednesday as she picked up donated goods being distrib- uted at the airport by fellow members of the American Federation of Government Employees.
The shutdown has brought an outpouring of generosity to
On Wednesday, donations of diapers, juice, garbage bags, canned soup and boxes of Ramen noodles were being unloaded onto luggage carts at the valet drop-off curb at Or- lando International Airport, to be distributed to TSA workers there the next day.
“I just wanted to support the federal workers who are furloughed because of the in- action of our government lead- ers,” said Brian Couch, wearing a Kansas City Chiefs ball cap as he dropped off his donation.
The airport in Pittsburgh provided a free lunch to TSA workers on what should have been their payday last Friday. “Our Operation Thank You free lunch program initially was only Fridays but because we’re hearing from several food vendors who want to do- nate, it’s possible it will be in- creased to more days,” airport spokesman Bob Kerlik said in an email.
Cohen Says Trump Directed Him To Pay For Poll Rigging
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was canceling Speaker Nancy Pelosi's previously undisclosed trip to war-torn Afghanistan, telling the woman second in line to the presidency that she can't use a military jet but is welcome to fly commercially if she wants.
A U. S. Air Force bus loaded with lawmakers, including Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., Elaine Luria, D-Va., and
Mark Takano, D-Calif., held in place near the Capitol and returned to the building to let passengers off about 3 p.m. Thursday.
Trump’s letter, which cited the ongoing partial gov- ernment shutdown as the rea- son for his decision, comes a day after Pelosi told the pres- ident he should postpone his Jan. 29 State of the Union ad- dress or submit it in writing because the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t been funded for the current
year.
“Due to the Shutdown, I am
sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan has been post- poned,” Trump wrote. “In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiv- ing pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is to- tally appropriate.”
Trump said in his letter that Pelosi could reschedule the trip after the government has re-opened.
The government shutdown is affecting many.
TSA agents and other federal employees who are working without pay. Food, financial help, haircuts and toiletries are among the donated goods and services. TSA screeners start at about $24,000 a year, and most make between $26,000 and $35,000, less than many other government employees, although some earn more because of senior- ity, overtime or level of man- agement responsibility.
President Donald Trump's former "fixer" Michael Cohen said Thurs- day that he paid the head of a small technology company thousands in 2015 to rig on- line polls at "the direction of and for the sole benefit of" Trump.
Cohen was responding to a report in The Wall Street Journal that he paid John Gauger, the owner of RedFinch Solutions LLC, be- tween $12,000 and $13,000 for activities related to Trump's campaign, includ- ing "trying unsuccessfully to manipulate two online polls in Mr. Trump's favor" and creating a Twitter account called "@WomenForCohen" that "praised (Cohen's) looks and character, and pro- moted his appearances and statements boosting" Trump's candidacy.
In making the claim, Gauger told the paper he wasn't fully paid for the work, though the Journal said Cohen was reimbursed $50,000 -- the amount the two originally agreed on for Gauger's services -- by the Trump Organization. Gauger, according to the
Michael Cohen still intends to testify before Congress de- spite concerns for his family
paper, also received a boxing glove "worn by a Brazilian mixed-martial arts fighter" along with the cash payment.
The paper said that Cohen denied paying Gauger in cash, instead telling the Journal that "all monies paid to Mr. Gauger were by check" and declining to comment further. The Trump Organization did not comment to the Journal. Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for Trump, told the paper that the allegation that Cohen received more money than what he paid to Gauger shows he's a "thief."
Trump Postpones Nancy Pelosi's Trip
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